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Background: Chalcone synthase (CHS) is a key rate-limiting enzyme in the flavonoid synthesis pathway. Flavonoids are crucial secondary metabolites that play significant roles in plant growth, development, and stress resistance. The CHS gene (BrCHS) family in Chinese cabbage has not yet been studied. Results: We identified 10 BrCHS genes distributed across 7 chromosomes in the Chinese cabbage genome. Their encoded proteins all contain the Chal_Sti_Synt_C (PF02797) and Chal_Sti_Synt_N (PF00195) domains and can be classified into two groups based on systematic evolution analysis. These BrCHS genes contain 2–4 exons and numerous cis-acting elements responsive to light, hormones, stress, growth and development in the BrCHS gene promoters. We also revealed that the expression of BrCHS2 and BrCHS8 increased under treatment with methyl jasmonate, salt, or drought stress. Virus-induced gene silencing (VIGS) of BrCHS4 inhibited the expression of BrCHS4 and reduced the flavonoid and anthocyanin contents in leaves. Conclusions: Ten BrCHS family genes are present in the genome of Chinese cabbage. These BrCHS genes seemingly maintained similar characteristics and functionalities during evolution. Our results demonstrated that BrCHS4 is involved in flavonoid and anthocyanin accumulation in Chinese cabbage and identified candidate genes for purple Chinese cabbage breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is the most important fertilizer for increasing crop production, as it is absorbed by various N transporters and metabolized by a series of enzymes. Aspartate aminotransferase (ASP) facilitates the conversion of Glu to Asp for N storage. Chinese cabbage is a typical leafy vegetable that requires a large amount of N for growth. To investigate the functions of BraASPs, 10 members of the ASP gene family in Brassica rapa (B. rapa) were identified. Phylogenetic analysis and collinearity comparisons of ASP members among B. rapa, Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana), Oryza sativa (O. sativa), Brassica napus (B. napus), and Brassica oleracea (B. oleracea) were conducted to examine evolutionary associations and genome duplication events across species. Multiple cis-acting elements associated with stress responses were identified in the promoters of BraASPs, suggesting their diverse roles. Members of BraASPs were expressed in roots, stems, flowers, siliques, and leaves, with the highest expression in leaves. Their expression levels increased rapidly at 3 h under low N conditions, peaked at 6 h, and returned to low levels at 24 h. Based on transcriptomic data, BraASP1b was identified as a candidate gene in B. rapa under low N stress, localized in the nucleus and cytoplasm. Overexpression of BraASP1b in A. thaliana resulted in a higher biomass than Col-0 under low N conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green leafy vegetables (GLV) are known for their cardiovascular health benefits. However, the effects of their serving size on delaying carbohydrate and lipid digestion remain unclear. This study investigated the impact of varying MyPlate-recommended GLV serving sizes on the digestibility of carbohydrates and lipids and antioxidant activity during in vitro gastrointestinal digestion. Eight GLV including Asteraceae (cos, green oak, red oak, loose-leaf) and Brassicaceae (cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, Chinese cabbage) vegetables were incorporated into mixed meals at 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 times the MyPlate recommendation. The results showed that the total phenolic content (TPC) ranged from 5.77 to 9.46 mg GAE/g extract. Nitrate accumulation exhibited a higher content in Asteraceae (590.90-1155.04 mg NO3-NE/g extract) than in Brassicaceae families (244.96–726.20 mg NO3-NE/g extract). Incorporating ≥ 1 serving of all GLV significantly decreased rapidly and slowly digestible starch fractions, while undigestible starch significantly increased, resulting in delaying glucose release. Antioxidant activity was significantly enhanced with ≥ 1 serving and free fatty acid concentrations decreased with higher vegetable servings. Post-digestion nitrate concentrations ranged from 127.3 to 188.5 µg NO3-N/mL, positively correlating with GLV serving size. These effects were dose-dependent and varied across species. These findings suggest that incorporating GLV at or above the MyPlate recommendation may have protective effects on cardiovascular health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of microplastics on the remediation of cadmium-contaminated soil by biochar is still unclear. Therefore, in the present study, we investigated the effects of combining different biochars with polylactic acid (PLA) microplastics on the growth of Chinese cabbage, rhizosphere soil metabolomics, bacterial community structure, and Cd accumulation in Cd-contaminated soil. Compared with the treatment with biochar alone, the addition of PLA suppressed plant growth, but also reduced Cd accumulation in Chinese cabbage by 8–42%; the treatment with sugarcane bagasse biochar (SBC)–PLA showed the most prominent effect. Compared with the treatment with SBC alone, SBC–PLA reduced Cd accumulation in roots and aboveground parts by 47 and 22%, respectively (p < 0.05). The addition of PLA enhanced the soil organic matter, dissolved organic carbon, and total nitrogen contents, but reduced the available phosphorus and readily available potassium contents, with no significant impact on available Cd. The rhizosphere metabolite analysis showed that PLA plus biochar promoted the formation of cyclohexene terpenoids and chelating agents, the urea cycle, and chelation with Cd ions, thereby reducing Cd uptake by Chinese cabbage roots. The microbial structure analysis demonstrated that PLA plus biochar drove chelation between organic carbon, nitrogen, and Cd. This study highlights the potential of microplastics for mitigating Cd accumulation in plants and the remediation of heavy metal-contaminated soil. Highlights: The addition of PLA in biochar (BC) promotes the BC-mediated reduction of Cd accumulation in Chinese cabbage. The addition of PLA in BC promoted the increase in soil organic matter, DOC, and total nitrogen contents. The chelation of organic carbon and nitrogen with Cd is key to reducing Cd accumulation in the roots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Clubroot caused by the soilborne obligate parasite Plasmodiophora brassicae , is a devastating disease of Chinese cabbage and other crucifers. The innate diversity and adaptability of this pathogen pose significant challenges to effective control measures. However, the varied response mechanisms exhibited by hosts to pathotype 11 at a molecular level are still unclear. Methods and results: This study investigated the resistance response and underlying molecular mechanism of two Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa) varieties (JP and 83-1) to P. brassicae pathotype 11 through comparative transcriptome analysis and microscopic study. Results demonstrated that 14 days after inoculation (dai) is a critical time point of the infection process for resistant variety to inhibit the proliferation of P. brassica. Although the highly resistant variety JP did not exhibit a complete immune response to pathotype 11, it demonstrated a significant resistance level against P. brassicae pathotype 11 by restricting its proliferation in the xylem vessels. Microscopic analysis at 21 dai revealed that the resistant cultivar (JP) root structure remained largely unaffected, while the roots of the susceptible cultivar (83-1) exhibited significant tissue distortion and gall formation, underscoring the effectiveness of the resistance mechanisms. Comparative transcriptome analysis revealed substantial differences in the number and types of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two cultivars, highlighting the key pathways involved in the resistance response. In the resistant cultivar (JP), a total of 9,433 DEGs were identified, with 4,211 up-regulated and 5,222 down-regulated. In contrast, the susceptible cultivar (83-1) exhibited 6,456 DEGs, with 2,781 up-regulated and 3,675 down-regulated. The resistant cultivar showed a pronounced activation of genes involved in hormone signaling, cell wall, secondary metabolism, redox state, and signaling process. Therefore, our speculation revolves around the potential resistant mechanism of this variety, which inhibits the proliferation of P. brassicae in the roots via secondary metabolites, cell wall, and ROS and also regulates physiological mechanisms mediated by plant hormones such as ABA to adapt to adverse environmental conditions such as water scarcity induced by the pathogen. Conclusion: This study unveils the intricate defense mechanisms potentially activated within Chinese cabbage when confronted with P. brassicae pathotype 11, offering valuable insights for breeding programs and the development of novel strategies for managing clubroot disease in Brassica crops. Furthermore, this study highlights the pivotal role of host-specific molecular defense mechanisms that underlie resistance to P. brassicae pathotype 11. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Orphan genes (OGs) are crucial for species-specific characteristics and stress responses and are restricted to a specific taxon. However, their functions within particular species are poorly understood. Previous research identified OGs in Brassica rapa (BrOGs). In this study, the BrOGs overexpression (BrOGsOE) library in Arabidopsis thaliana was constructed. Approximately 128 unknown functional BrOGs were selected from Chinese cabbage and were overexpressed. The analysis focused on the phenotypes of leaf morphology and flowering time against phenotypic differences between Chinese cabbage and Arabidopsis. Interestingly, 72.66% of the transgenic lines showed distinctive phenotypic changes. Chinese cabbage-specific features, including curved, hairy, upward or downward-curving leaves, serrated margins, and multiple leaves, were observed in the BrOGsOE lines. The BrOGs overexpression library was associated with numerous variations in flowering time, particularly delayed flowering. This suggested that the delayed flowering time caused by BrOGs may be associated with resistance to bolting seem in Chinese cabbage. Furthermore, the results of stress treatment of 24 BrOGsOE lines with no apparent significant phenotypes suggested that a number of BrOGs have both general and specific functions against environmental and pathogenic stress. The findings of this study provide a comprehensive overview of the roles of BrOGs , emphasizing their significance as a resource for identifying positive genes associated with species-specific characteristics and stress responses and offering a solid foundation for the functional analysis of BrOGs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premature bolting reduces the yield and quality of Chinese cabbage, making bolting resistance gene identification crucial for breeding superior and stable varieties. In this study, we identified an orphan gene BOLTING RESISTANCE 3 (BR3) that positively regulates bolting resistance in Arabidopsis thaliana. The expression of BR3 was developmentally regulated and occurred during the seedling and flowering stages. The BR3 protein was localized to both the plasma membrane and nucleus. Arabidopsis BR3 overexpressing (BR3 OE) plants exhibited delayed bolting and flowering times, an increased number of rosette leaves, reduced plant height, and fewer siliques under long-day (LD) conditions. Key flowering genes were significantly downregulated in BR3 OE plants. BR3 OE plants similarly exhibited delayed bolting and flowering times, and an increased number of rosette leaves under short-day (SD) conditions. BR3 OE plants showed no significant phenotypic differences after vernalization treatment. BR3 OE and WT plants exhibited early flowering after GA3 treatment, and bolting and flowering time remained delayed in BR3 OE plants compared with WT plants. Key DELLA genes BrRGA1 and BrRGL3 exhibited a co-expression pattern consistent with BR3 gene in Chinese cabbage, which suggested that BrRGA1 and BrRGL3 genes may directly or indirectly regulated by BR3 gene. BR3 gene increased bolting resistance perhaps by upregulating the expression of DELLA genes in the GA pathway. This study provides new theoretical insights for addressing premature bolting in Chinese cabbage and offers novel approaches for breeding bolting-resistant varieties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Key message: BrCYP71 encoding multifunctional oxidase was mapped using BSA-Seq and linkage analysis, and its function in stay-green of pak choi was verified through Arabidopsis heterologous transgenic experiment. Stay-green refers to the phenomenon that plant leaves remain green during senescence and even after death, which is of great significance for improving the commerciality of leafy vegetables during storage or transportation and extending their shelf life. In this study, we identified a stay-green mutant of pak choi and named it nye2. Genetic analysis showed that the stay-green trait was controlled by a recessive nuclear gene. We obtained a 550 kb candidate region on chromosome A03 using BSA-Seq and linkage analysis. In this interval, BraA03g049920.3.5C, named BrCYP71, was identified as a candidate gene using sequence variation analysis. BrCYP71 is an ortholog of Arabidopsis AT4G13290, which encodes a multifunctional oxidase. A 4 bp insertion from T to TGATC in the first exon of BrCPY71 in the mutant led to the formation of a stop codon, TAA. Ectopic overexpression of BrCYP71 in Arabidopsis cyp71 could restored the wild-type phenotype. These results indicate that BrCYP71 contributes to the stay-green of nye2. The expression levels of chlorophyll catabolism-related genes in nye2 were significantly reduced compared to those in the wild-type, suggesting that BrCPY71 affected chlorophyll catabolism. Our achievement provides a novel genetic resource for breeding the stay-green varieties of Brassica rapa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glucosinolates (GSLs) are secondary metabolites in Brassicaceae plants and play a defensive role against a variety of abiotic and biotic stresses. Also, it exhibits anti-cancer activity against cancer cell in human. Different profiles of aliphatic GSL compounds between radish and Chinese cabbage were previously reported. However, molecular details underlying the divergent profile between two species were not clearly understood. In this study, we found that major difference of aliphatic GSLs profiles between two species is determined by the dominantly expressed genes in first step of the secondary modification phase, which are responsible for enzymatic catalysis of methylthioalkyl-glucosinolate. For instance, active expression of GLUCORAPHASATIN SYNTHASE 1 (GRS1) gene in radish play an important role in the production of glucoraphasatin (GRH) and glucoraphenin (GRE), a major aliphatic GSLs in radish. Meanwhile, Chinese cabbage was found to merely produce glucoraphasatin (GRH), instead producing glucoraphanin (GRA) and gluconapin (GNP) due to the mere expression of GRS1 homologs and abundant expressions of FLAVIN-CONTAINING MONOOXYGENASES (FMO GS-OX) homologs in Chinese cabbage. In addition, we noticed that wounding treatment on leaf tissues substantially enhanced the production of aliphatic and benzenic GSLs in both Chinese cabbage and radish, indicating that GSLs are wound-induced defensive compounds in both Chinese cabbage and radish plants. Key message: Major difference of aliphatic glucosinolate profiles between radish and Chinese cabbage is determined by the dominantly expressed genes in the first step of the secondary modification phase like GLUCORAPHASATIN SYNTHASE 1 (GRS1) and FLAVIN-CONTAINING MONOOXYGENASES (FMO GS-OXs) genes, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The accurate quantification of plant types can provide a scientific basis for crop variety improvement, whereas efficient automatic classification methods greatly enhance crop management and breeding efficiency. For leafy crops such as Chinese cabbage, differences in the plant type directly affect their growth and yield. However, in current agricultural production, the classification of Chinese cabbage plant types largely depends on manual observation and lacks scientific and unified standards. Therefore, it is crucial to develop a method that can quickly and accurately quantify and classify plant types. This study has proposed a method for the rapid and accurate quantification and classification of Chinese cabbage plant types based on point-cloud data processing and the deep learning algorithm PointNet++. First, we quantified the traits related to plant type based on the growth characteristics of Chinese cabbage. K-medoids clustering analysis was then used for the unsupervised classification of the data, and specific quantification of Chinese cabbage plant types was performed based on the classification results. Finally, we combined 1024 feature vectors with 10 custom dimensionless features and used the optimized PointNet++ model for supervised learning to achieve the automatic classification of Chinese cabbage plant types. The experimental results showed that this method had an accuracy of up to 92.4% in classifying the Chinese cabbage plant types, with an average recall of 92.5% and an average F1 score of 92.3%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The co‐application of biochar and wood vinegar has demonstrated the potential to enhance premium crop production. The present study reveals the effects of co‐applying rice husk biochar and wood vinegar (both foliar and soil application) on soil properties and the growth of Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis L.) in a two‐season pot experiment. RESULTS: The soil pH, electrical conductivity and dissolved organic carbon contents in combination treatments of wood vinegar and biochar were increased more when wood vinegar was applied to soils rather than to leaves, and the parameters were observed to surpass those for chemical fertilizer treatments. The biomass of Chinese cabbage shoots was significantly increased by 60.8‐ and 27.3‐fold in the combined treatments compared to the control when 1% wood vinegar was sprayed to the leaves (WF1) in 2022 and 2023, respectively. Higher contents of vitamin C, soluble protein and soluble sugar were also observed in the combined wood vinegar and biochar treatments compared to chemical fertilizer treatments and the control; for example, the vitamin C content of plant shoot in WF1 was 21.3 times that of the control. The yield and quality of plants were decreased across all treatments in 2023 compared to 2022 but the combination treatments still displayed superiority. CONCLUSION: The co‐application of wood vinegar and biochar enhances the growth and improve the quality of Chinese cabbage through improving the soil properties and plant photosynthesis. Moreover, the foliage application of wood vinegar is more preferable compared to soil application. © 2024 Society of Chemical Industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This experiment studied the factors affecting the difference of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, and chlorophyll (a+b) accumulation in different varieties of Chinese cabbage under low temperature and high temperature, and analyzed the adaptability of Chinese cabbage to chlorophyll under temperature stress. The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll (a+b) of 15 kinds of Chinese cabbage were different under the condition of 0℃, which was related to the variety. The content of chlorophyll a in 11 of the 15 varieties of Chinese cabbage decreased after the temperature dropped, and the content of chlorophyll b in all varieties decreased at low temperature. The content of chlorophyll (a+b) in 10 kinds of Chinese cabbage decreased after 0 ℃, and the content of chlorophyll (a+b) in 5 kinds of Chinese cabbage increased after 0℃ . The contents of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and chlorophyll (a+b) in 5 varieties of Chinese cabbage were different under high temperature treatment. This experiment provides reference for the cultivation and variety creation of “lion head” Chinese cabbage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chinese cabbage is a cross-pollinated crop with remarkable heterosis, and male-sterile line is an important mean to produce its hybrids. In this study, a male-sterile mutant msm7 was isolated from a Chinese cabbage DH line 'FT' by using EMS-mutagenesis. Results: Compared with the wild-type 'FT', the anthers of mutant msm7 were completely aborted, accompanied by the defects in leaf and petal development. Genetic analysis showed that a single recessive nuclear gene controlled the sterile phenotype of mutant msm7. Cytological observation indicated that the anther abortion of mutant msm7 was caused by the degenarated microspores and premature degradation of tapetum. MutMap and KASP analyses identified that BraA01g038270.3 C, encoding the large subunit of ribonucleotide reductase (RNR1) which involved in the biosynthesis of dNTPs, was the candidate gene, named BrRNR1. Compared with the wild-type 'FT', a G-A mutation occurred on the 4th exon of the BrRNR1 gene, leading to the premature termination of encoded amino acid in mutant msm7. Expression analysis indicated that the BrRNR1 gene was ubiquitously expressed in all organs and was significantly decreased in flower bud and anther of mutant msm7 compared with the wild-type 'FT'. Subcellular localization revealed that BrRNR1 was an endoplasmic reticulum localization protein. Conclusion: Our study is the first to characterize the function of BrRNR1 gene associated with male sterility and lays a foundation for exploring the molecular mechanism of anther abortion caused by the mutation in BrRNR1 gene of Chinese cabbage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to fully utilize the resources of agricultural waste in Gansu Province's semi-arid area. Local commercial organic fertilizer (ST1) was selected as the control, and four kinds of planting and breeding waste composts (PBCs) were designed with sheep manure (SM), cow manure (CM), tail vegetable (TV), mushroom residue (MR), and corn straw (CS) to study the effects of the different PBC formulations on the yield and quality of mini Chinese cabbage. In contrast to local commercial organic fertilizer, the STS (SM:TV:CS = 6:3:1) treatment increased the economic yield by 5.56%. Additionally, STS also significantly increased the VC content of mini Chinese cabbage, increased the organic acid by 14.66%, increased the free amino acid by 38.98%, and the nitrate concentration was significantly reduced by 41.05%. Meanwhile, the STS formula also increased the concentrations of polyphenols and essential amino acids of mini Chinese cabbage and also had excellent performance in volatile compounds. As a result, the STS formula can make full use of local planting and breeding waste resources and produce high yield and high quality of local mini Chinese cabbage. The study provided a theoretical foundation and technical guidance for screening suitable local compost formulas, as well as for the achievement of high-yield and high-quality mini Chinese cabbage production in the semi-arid areas of central Gansu province. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vitamin K consumption needs to be monitored in people taking warfarin since it can impact the anticoagulation response. Vegetables are the primary nutritional source of Vitamin K1, in the form of Vitamin K1. The aim of this study was to measure the level of Vitamin K1 in various vegetables that were commercially sold in three major Bandung markets and were ingested by patients using warfarin at Hasan Sadikin Central General Hospital Bandung. High-performance liquid chromatography with an ultraviolet detector set at 245 nm was the analytical technique. One hundred percent methanol was used as the mobile phase, and it was isocratically eluted at a flow rate of 0.6 mL/min with a T3 column maintained at 25°C. The results indicated that the following Vitamin K1 levels were found in lettuce: 38.4391 ± 15.2650–64.4419 ± 19.0315 µg/100 g, in napa cabbage: 56.7445 ± 0.1569–273.2828 ± 8.3061 µg/100 g, in cabbage: 27.9531 ± 1.7487–217.0457 ± 7.2201 µg/100 g, and in spinach: 305.2868 ± 3.3058–970.7098 ± 14.1167 µg/100 g. The highest Vitamin K1 level was in spinach and the lowest was in lettuce. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Phosphorus (P) is vital for the growth of crops, and its absorption efficiency is closely linked to the traits of the plants. Further research is needed to understand how vegetable crops adjust to changes in P availability and how their root morphology and physiology are affected by high P levels in the shoots. In this study, eight Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa pekinensis) genotypes were grown in a culture room under 0, 25, 50, 100, 150, 300, 600, 900, and 1200 mg kg−1 concentrations of P to evaluate root responses in order to define various adaptive strategies in relation to P acquisition. We selected high-PE and low-PE Chinese cabbage in order to identify how different P efficiency groups responded to P supply and shoot P concentration. P supply level and shoot P concentration significantly affected growth. With the increase in the P supply level, the growth variable characteristics of Chinese cabbage first increased and then decreased or increased first and then stabilized. But it was found that P300 was the most suitable level for Chinese cabbage growth. At the same P supply level, high-PE cabbages had higher shoot dry weight and P absorption capacity, stronger root traits, and higher plasticity as compared to low-PE cabbages. The optimal shoot P concentration is 2.1 mg g−1 and 1.7 mg g−1 for low- and high-PE cabbages, respectively. The root morphological traits performed greatly when the shoot P concentration was at the optimal concentration. The low-PE cabbages had greater shoot growth traits, and high-PE cabbages had higher root dry weight and P absorption. This study offers valuable insights to improve P management by analyzing the relationships between soil P dynamics and root processes in the cultivation of Chinese cabbage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the antibiotic resistance of pathogens becomes increasingly severe, it is becoming more feasible to use methods that suppress the virulence of pathogens rather than exerting selective pressure on their growth. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a dangerous opportunistic pathogen, infects hosts by producing multiple virulence factors, which are regulated by quorum-sensing (QS) systems, including the las systems, rhl systems, and pqs systems. This study used the chromosome lacZ transcription fusion reporter model to screen the traditional Chinese medicine monomer library and found that bakuchiol can effectively inhibit the pqs system and related virulence phenotypes of P. aeruginosa, including the production of virulence factors (pyocyanin, hydrogen cyanide, elastase, and lectin) and motility (swarming, swimming, and twitching motility) without affecting its growth. Subsequently, through genetic complementation analysis, we found that bakuchiol inhibited the function of the transcriptional activation protein PqsR of the pqs system in P. aeruginosa in a concentration-dependent manner. Furthermore, molecular dynamics simulation study results indicated that bakuchiol can target PqsR of the pqs system, thereby inhibiting the pqs system. Among the amino acids in PqsR, ALA-168 may be a key amino acid residue in the hydrophobic interaction between PqsR protein and bakuchiol. Finally, in vivo experiments demonstrated that bakuchiol attenuated the pathogenicity of P. aeruginosa to Chinese cabbage (Brassica pekinensis) and Caenorhabditis elegans. In summary, this study suggests that bakuchiol is an effective inhibitor that targets the pqs system of P. aeruginosa, providing a new strategy for addressing P. aeruginosa infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the effect of Metarhizium spp. M. marquandii on the seed germination of cabbage, a cruciferous crop, was investigated. The effects of this strain on the seed germination vigor, bud growth and physiological characteristics of Chinese cabbage were analyzed by a seed coating method. The results showed the following: (1) The coating agent M. marquandii SGSF043 could significantly improve the germination activity of Chinese cabbage seeds. (2) The strain concentration in the seed coating agent had different degrees of regulation on the antioxidase system of the buds, indicating that it could activate the antioxidant system and improve the antioxidant ability of the buds. (3) When the concentration of M. marquandii SGSF043 was 5.6 × 106 CFU/mL (average per grain), the effect of M. marquandii SGSF043 on the leaf hormones Indole Acetic Acid (IAA), Gibberellic Acid (GA) and Abscisic Acid (ABA) of Chinese cabbage seedlings was significantly higher than that of other treatment groups, indicating that the strain could optimize the level of plant hormones. (4) M. marquandii SGSF043 could induce the expression of stress-resistance-related genes in different tissue parts of Chinese cabbage and improve the growth-promoting stress resistance of buds. This study showed that M. marquandii SGSF043 could not only improve the germination vitality of Chinese cabbage seeds but also enhance the immunity of young buds. The results provide a theoretical basis for the application potential of Metarhizium marquandii in agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive use of chemical fertilizers and extensive farming can degrade soil properties so that leading to decline in crop yields. Combining plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) with biochar (BC) may be an alternative way to mitigate this situation. However, the proportion of PGPR and BC at which crop yield can be improved, as well as the improvement effect extent on different eco-geographic region and crops, remain unclear. This research used cabbage [ Brassica pekinensis (Lour.) Rupr.] as the target crop and established as treatment conventional fertilization as a control and a 50% reduction in nitrogen fertilizer at the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau of China, adding BC or PGPR to evaluate the effects of different treatments on cabbage yield and the soil physicochemical properties. Specifically, high-throughput sequencing probed beneficial soil microbial communities and investigated the impact of BC and PGPR on cabbage yield and soil properties. The results revealed that the soil alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen (AH-N), available phosphorus (AP), and available potassium (AK) contents were higher in the BC application than in control. The BC application or mixed with PGPR significantly increased the soil organic matter (OM) content (P<0.05), with a maximum of 42.59 g/kg. Further, applying BC or PGPR significantly increased the abundance of beneficial soil microorganisms in the whole growth period of cabbage (P<0.05), such as Streptomyces , Lysobacter , and Bacillus. Meanwhile, the co-application of BC and PGPR increased the abundance of Pseudomonas , and also significantly enhanced the Shannon index and Simpson index of bacterial community (P<0.05). Combined or not with PGPR, the BC application significantly enhanced cabbage yield (P<0.05), with the highest yield reached 1.41 fold of the control. Our research indicated that BC is an suitable and promising carrier of PGPR for soil improvement, combining BC and PGPR can effectively ameliorate the diversity of bacterial community even in acid red soil rhizosphere, and the most direct reflection is to improve soil fertility and cabbage yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaf senescence is a major concern for postharvest leafy vegetables, as leaves are highly prone to yellowing and nutrient loss, resulting in reduced commercial value and limited shelf-life. This study aimed to investigate the effect of L-cysteine (L-cys) on postharvest Chinese flowering cabbage stored at 20 °C. The results showed that 0.5 g L−1 L-cys treatment effectively slowed leaf senescence by downregulating chlorophyll degradation genes (BrNYC1, BrNOL, BrPPH, BrPAO, BrNYE, and BrSAGs) and senescence marker gene BrSAG12. Moreover, this treatment exhibited positive influence on the nutritional quality of cabbage. Also, L-cys treatment maintained ROS homeostasis, preventing excessive ROS accumulation and lipid membrane oxidation. L-cys treatment also maintained a higher total antioxidant capacity and scavenging rate of •OH and O2•−. Additionally, L-cys treatment maintained high levels of ascorbate and glutathione and activated antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, peroxidase, and catalase) and the expression of the encoding genes. Furthermore, L-cys treatment elevated endogenous H2S levels, which are correlated with increased L-cysteine desulfhydrase activity and the upregulation of H2S biosynthesis-related genes. These findings suggest that L-cys can delay leaf senescence by reducing chlorophyll breakdown, maintaining ROS homeostasis, and stimulating endogenous H2S production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The challenges posed by climate change have had a crucial impact on global food security, with crop yields negatively affected by abiotic and biotic stresses. Consequently, the identification of abiotic stress-responsive genes (SRGs) in crops is essential for augmenting their resilience. This study presents a computational model utilizing machine learning techniques to predict genes in Chinese cabbage that respond to four abiotic stresses: cold, heat, drought, and salt. To construct this model, data from relevant studies regarding responses to these abiotic stresses were compiled, and the protein sequences encoded by abiotic SRGs were converted into numerical representations for subsequent analysis. For the selected feature set, six distinct machine learning binary classification algorithms were employed. The results demonstrate that the constructed models can effectively predict SRGs associated with the four types of abiotic stresses, with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (auROC) for the models being 81.42%, 87.92%, 80.85%, and 88.87%, respectively. For each type of stress, a distinct number of stress-resistant genes was predicted, and the ten genes with the highest scores were selected for further analysis. To facilitate the implementation of the proposed strategy by users, an online prediction server, has been developed. This study provides new insights into computational approaches to the identification of abiotic SRGs in Chinese cabbage as well as in other plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Verticillium wilt greatly hampers Chinese cabbage growth, causing significant yield limitations. Rapid and accurate detection of Verticillium wilt in the Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) can provide significant agronomic benefits. Here, we propose a detection model, DSConv-GAN, which is based on images acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Based on YOLOv8, with the addition of the dynamic snake convolution (DSConv) module and the improved loss function maximum possible distance intersection-over-union (MPDIoU), we acquired enhanced complex structures and global characteristics in Chinese cabbage images under different growth conditions. To reduce the difficulty of acquiring diseased Chinese cabbage data, a cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (CycleGAN) was used to simulate and generate images of the Verticillium wilt characteristics for multiple fields. The detection of lightly infected plants achieved precision, recall, mean average precision (mAP), and F1-score of 81.3, 86.6, 87.7, and 83.9%, respectively. DSConv-GAN outperforms other models in terms of precision, detection speed, robustness, and generalization. The model is combined with software to improve the practicability of the proposed method. Our results demonstrate DSConv-GAN to be an effective intelligent farming tool that provides early, rapid, and accurate detection of Chinese cabbage Verticillium wilt in complex growing environments.

Leaf senescence is the final stage of leaf development, where the nutrients and energy of senescent leaves are redistributed to developing tissues or organs for plant growth, reproduction, and defense. Outer leaves are photosynthetic organs that usually senesce at the late heading stage in Chinese cabbage, and premature leaf senescence often reduces leafy head yield and quality. In this study, 11 premature leaf senescence mutants were screened from an ethyl methanesulfonate-mutagenized population of the double haploid line ‘FT’ in Chinese cabbage. At the early heading stage, the mutants exhibited edge yellowing within its outer leaves, and at the mature stage, its leafy head weight decreased significantly. Genetic analysis revealed that the mutated trait of all 11 mutants corresponds to single gene recessive inheritance. Semi-diallel cross tests showed that 5 of the 11 were allelic mutants. MutMap and Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR genotyping revealed that BraA01g001400.3C was the candidate gene, which is orthologous of Arabidopsis SUPPRESSOR OF rps4-RLD 1, encoding an immune regulator, so we named it as BrSRFR1. All the BrSRFR1 in the five allelic mutants exhibited single nucleotide polymorphisms at different positions on their exons and led to premature translation termination, which confirmed that defect in BrSRFR1 led to premature leaf senescence. These results verify the role of BrSRFR1 on leaf senescence and provide a new insight into the mechanisms of leaf senescence in Chinese cabbage, which reveals a novel function of SRFR1 in plant development.

Abstract Aims: Straw turnover plays an important role in reducing soil diseases, improving the ecological environment of plowland and realizing the effective ecological utilization of straw. Methods: Pot and field experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of maize, rice and wheat straws on the growth, clubroot disease of Chinese cabbage and soil nutrients. Undecomposed and decomposed maize, rice and wheat straws were quantitatively added to the monocultural soil of Chinese cabbage, and the crops without straw were taken as the control. Results: The results showed that the addition of maize, wheat and rice straws could promote the growth of monocultural Chinese cabbage, inhibit the occurrence of clubroot disease, increase soil pH value, the content of soil organic matter, alkaline hydrolyzable nitrogen and available potassium in pot experiment. Exogenous straw application could reduce the incidence rate by 22.54 ~ 47.85%, increase the plot yield of field 95.15 ~ 365.81%. Conclusions: In terms of inhibiting clubroot disease and improving soil properties, undecomposed rice straw is superior to maize and wheat straw, while decomposed maize straw is superior to rice and wheat straw.

To achieve automated harvesting of hydroponic Chinese flowering cabbage, the detection and localization of the cabbage are crucial. This study proposes a two stages detection and localization algorithm for hydroponic Chinese flowering cabbage, which includes macro-detection and micro-localization. The macro-detection algorithm is named P-YOLOv5s-GRNF. Its improvement strategies include adopting pruning techniques, the GSConv, receptive field attention convolution (RFAConv), normalization-based attention module (NAM), and the Focal-EIOU Loss module. The micro-localization algorithm is named YOLOv5s-SBC. Its improvement strategies include adding a 160×160 detection layer, removing a 20×20 detection layer, introducing a weighted bidirectional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) structure, and utilizing the coordinate attention (CA) mechanism. The experimental results showed that P-YOLOv5s-GRNF increased the mAP(mean average precision) by 0.8%, 4.3%, 3.2%, 0.7%, 19.3%, 9.8%, 3.1% compared to mainstream object detection algorithms YOLOv5s, YOLOv6s, YOLOv7-tiny, YOLOv8s, YOLOv5s-Shufflenetv2, YOLOv5s-Mobilenetv3, YOLOv5s-Ghost, respectively. Compared to the original model, P-YOLOv5s-GRNF decreased parameters by 18%, decreased model size to 11.9MB, decreased FLOPs to 14.5G, and increased FPS by 4.3. YOLOv5s-SBC also increased mAP by 4.0% compared to the original YOLOv5s, with parameters decreased by 65%, model size decreased by 60%, and FLOPs decreased to 15.3G. Combined with a depth camera, the improved models construct a positioning system that can provide technical support for the automated and intelligent harvesting of Chinese flowering cabbage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rape (Brassica napus) is an important oilseed crop widely cultivated worldwide. Due to its relatively short evolutionary and domestication history, its intra-species genetic diversity is limited. Radish (Raphanus sativus), belonging to a different genus but the same family as B. nupus, possesses an abundance of excellent gene resources. It is commonly used for B. nupus germplasm improvement and genetic basis expansion, making it one of the most important close relatives for distant hybridization. In the present study, a novel method for detecting alien chromosome fragments, called Anchor Mapping of Alien Chromosome (AMAC) was used to identify radish chromosome segments in the progeny of rape–radish interspecific hybrids. Based on the AMAC method, 126,861 pairs of IP (Intron Polymorphism) and 76,764 pairs of SSR (Simple Sequence Repeat) primers were developed using the radish Rs1.0 reference genome. A total of 44,176 markers (23,816 pairs of IP and 20,360 pairs of SSR markers) were predicted to be radish genome specific-single-locus (SSL) markers through electronic PCR analysis among four R. sativus, one B. napus, one B. rapa, one B. juncea, and one B. juncea reference genome. Among them, 626 randomly synthesized SSL markers (478 SSL IP markers and 148 SSL SSR markers) were used to amplify the genome of 24 radish samples (R. sativus), 18 rape (B. napus), 2 Chinese cabbage (B. rapa), 2 kale (B. oleracea), and 2 mustard (B. juncea) samples, respectively. Then, 333 SSL markers of the radish genome were identified, which only amplified in the radish genome and not in any Brassica species genome, including 192 IP markers and 141 SSR markers. Furthermore, these validated SSL markers were used to identify alien chromosome fragments in Ogura-CMS restorer line 16C, Ogura-CMS sterile line 81A, and their hybrid-Yunyouza15. In 16C, one marker, Rs1.0025823_intron_3, had an amplification product designated as anchor marker for the alien chromosome fragment of 16C. Afterwards, four novel radish genome-specific IP markers were found to be flanking the anchor marker, and it was determined that the alien chromosome segment in 16C originated from the region 8.4807–11.7798 Mb on radish chromosome R9, and it was approximately 3.2991 Mb in size. These results demonstrate that the AMAC method developed in this study is efficient, convenient, and cost-effective for identifying excellent alien chromosome fragments/genes in distant hybrid progeny, and it can be applied to the molecular marker-assisted breeding and hybrid identification of radish and Brassica crop species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Verticillium wilt greatly hampers Chinese cabbage growth, causing significant yield limitations. Rapid and accurate detection of Verticillium wilt in the Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa L. ssp. pekinensis) can provide significant agronomic benefits. Here, we propose a detection model, DSConv-GAN, which is based on images acquired by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Based on YOLOv8, with the addition of the dynamic snake convolution (DSConv) module and the improved loss function maximum possible distance intersection-over-union (MPDIoU), we acquired enhanced complex structures and global characteristics in Chinese cabbage images under different growth conditions. To reduce the difficulty of acquiring diseased Chinese cabbage data, a cycle-consistent generative adversarial network (CycleGAN) was used to simulate and generate images of the Verticillium wilt characteristics for multiple fields. The detection of lightly infected plants achieved precision, recall, mean average precision (mAP), and F1-score of 81.3, 86.6, 87.7, and 83.9%, respectively. DSConv-GAN outperforms other models in terms of precision, detection speed, robustness, and generalization. The model is combined with software to improve the practicability of the proposed method. Our results demonstrate DSConv-GAN to be an effective intelligent farming tool that provides early, rapid, and accurate detection of Chinese cabbage Verticillium wilt in complex growing environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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【Objective】 The study aimed to explore the effects of applying different concentrations of calcium sulfate fertilizer on the growth, development and flavor quality of Chinese cabbage, screen for the optimal calcium concentration, and provide theoretical basis for the rational application of calcium fertilizer in Chinese cabbage cultivation.【Method】Two Chinese cabbage varieties ‘Heiye Wuyueman’ and ‘Shanghai Liuyueman’ were used as test materials, and pot experiment combined with indoor analysis was used to set 5 calcium application levels of 0,200,400,600 and 800 mg/kg, respectively, non-calcium application was used as blank control. The biomass, amino acid composition and content, volatile matter composition and content, calcium content and accumulation of Chinese cabbage were measured, and the effects of different calcium application levels on promoting cabbage growth and improving quality were analyzed.【Result】The aboveground and root biomass of two Chinese cabbage varieties, ‘Heiye Wuyueman’ and ‘Shanghai Liuyueman’, showed an overall trend of first increasing and then decreasing with the increase of calcium fertilizer concentration. Their aboveground biomass increased by 20.67%-40.70% and 9.49%-42.88%,respectively compared to the control. Under calcium treatment, the contents of essential amino acid, semi-essential amino acid and total amino acid, and the ratio of essential amino acid content to total amino acid content (EAA/TAA) of two cabbage varieties were all increased to a certain extent. For ‘Heiye Wuyueman’,the total amino acid content and essential amino acid content were higher than those of the control under the high calcium levels of 600 and 800 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O, and the total amino acid content reached the maximum under 600 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O treatment. The contents of essential amino acids, semi-essential amino acids and total amino acids in ‘Shanghai Liuyueman’ were higher than the control except for 600 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O treatment, which was lower than the control.The maximum value reached under 200 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O treatment. A total of 29 volatile compounds were detected in two Chinese cabbage varieties.Calcium treatment increased the content of ketones compounds in ‘Heiye Wuyueman’,with an increase of 34.33% to 78.66% compared to the control; The content of nitriles and alcohols in ‘Shanghai Liuyueman’ was increased by 9.00%-80.24% and 3.06%-70.19%,respectively. The calcium content in the aboveground and root of ‘Heiye Wuyueman’ and ‘Shanghai Liuyueman’ increased first and then decreased with the increase of calcium application level, reaching the maximum value under 600 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O treatment.【Conclusion】The effect of 600 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O treatment on ‘Heiye Wuyueman’ was the best, and the effect of 400 mg/kg CaSO4·2H2O treatment on ‘Shanghai Liuyueman’ was the best. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: Genistein is a naturally occurring flavonoid with a rich spectrum of biological activities, including plant-herbivore interactions. The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of exogenous application of genistein on aphid behavior during probing in plant tissues. (2) Methods: Vicia faba, Brassica rapa ssp. pekinensis, and Avena sativa were treated transepidermally with a 0.1% ethanolic solution of genistein, and the probing behavior of generalist aphid species Aphis fabae, Myzus persicae, and Rhopalosiphum padi was monitored on their respective treated and untreated host plants using electropenetrography (=electrical penetration graph technique, EPG); (3) Results: Genistein did not deter aphid probing activities in non-phloem tissues. In A. fabae and R. padi, a trend towards reduction and in M. persicae a trend towards increase in phloem sap ingestion occurred on genistein-treated plants, but these trends were not statistically significant. (4) Conclusions: Genistein is not a deterrent chemical against generalist aphid species studied; therefore, it is not recommended for practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]